England national team star Phil Foden made a scoring return to the Manchester City starting XI after he found the back of the net with the only goal of the Brentford game off the assist from Belgian playmaker Kevin De Bruyne. Foden had been briefly punished for his misdemeanor by manager Pep Guardiola but he showed that he has an impeccable power of recovery by making a telling contribution for his team to see off the Bees without too much problems.
Foden has been one of the best young players in the Premier League this season and he was responsible for one of the goals when Manchester City thrashed Leeds United 7-0 at home just before the festive period started. Compatriot Jack Grealish was also on target during the game with fellow countryman John Stones, Dutch substitute Nathan Ake, Kevin De Bruyne (two goals) and Riyad Mahrez.
After the Leeds United game, Foden and Grealish attended a function amidst the rapid rise of the Covid-19 Omicron variant in the United Kingdomand they were subsequently punished for it. Guardiola left them out of his starting XI for the next league game, a 4-0 away win over Newcastle United on Sunday. The two players were left on the bench for the whole game against the Magpies with the likes of Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez, Joao Cancelo and Ruben Dias on the scoresheet.
Foden returned to the pitch as a second half substitute during the big win over Leicester City on Boxing Day before he was given a start for the game against the Bees. The Academy graduate scored the only goal of the game after just 16 minutes and it proved to be all that was needed to win the game and move eight points clear of Chelsea.